I Wish I Were Real
by Teral
Summary: inspired by Sword Art Online. A boy by the name of Merak Yaxha was born into a virtual reality that was created when the human race became too large for the earth.
1. Chapter 1

It was hard to believe, but I was born here. The world I lived in was not real. A long time ago, there was a point in where people thought if there were too many people living that we could all move to another planet out in space. But now, the thought of living in reality seemed silly. When the technology was created, one half of the people on earth were required to scan themselves molecule by molecule into computers that brought them to the world where I lived. The other half was required to ensure that the virtual world was properly maintained, though not many were needed so many of them decided to join the others in the new world.

We did not know what happened, but lately the whole world has been blacking out for up to five minutes each time at least once a week. There has been no message from the other side, and we are beginning to believe that they are dead. Since there is no way to get back to the real world from inside the virtual one, if the computers running the system were to burn out everyone's data in the virtual world would be erased. Although, if someone in the real world were to log everyone out, there was one problem. Some of the people in the virtual world have no bodies in the real one, like me, and that those who had bodies would be too frail to even walk and would most likely die shortly after being logged out. We have been told that life in this world was much easier than life in the real one and that those in the real world did not have menus that they could open with a flick of a couple fingers. I have always wondered how they managed to go about daily life without the same functions as we do. Maybe they are just used to it. Everything we do is done through the menu. This includes simple things such as cooking, changing our attire, and interacting with each other.

One of the most complicated things about this world is the marriage system. If two people were to marry one another, not only would they share an item storage, they could, in a way, make a baby by purchasing an item called "cradle" and selecting "add player" so it randomly added your genetic code to the baby's appearance. But not many people chose to create more players as the item was very expensive and even more costly to care for the child. And, on top of that, there was no safety feature for those born in the game, as the system crashed, their data would be lost have been told that life in this world was much easier than life in the real one and that those in the real world did not have menus that they could open with a flick of a couple fingers. I have always wondered how they managed to go about daily life without the same functions as we do. Maybe they are just used to it. Everything we do is done through the menu. This includes simple things such as cooking, changing our attire, and interacting with each other.

A lot of players would look down on people like me. They thought they were not real people and no better than NPCs. Most of the time, I would hide the fact that I was game-born and very few people knew I was at all.

I was an outcast. Everyday, I would go out into the field, kill a few monsters, and come back home late at night with dinner for me, my mother, and father. My father never really wanted a child in the game for the amount of negative attention it drew to him and it was starting to seem like my mother was beginning to feel the same way. I never really had any friends, and any that I did have were only temporary. The only friend who ever sent me a friend-request was a girl who lived a long ways from my current position. I could see her location on the map and she could see where I was, if she ever looked. "Angelica," I whispered as I closed my window.

character: Merak Yaxha_equipment_attire_lvl 1-maroon night clothing

hunger- 92% fatigue-3%

inventory_medicine_sm. sleeping potion_use

I drank the sour liquid from the bottle until it shattered into shards of light and vanished. Within five minutes I was fast asleep.

"Boy! Why ain't you gone out into the fields yet? Our dinner ain't gonna hunt itself!" my father said harshly as I scrolled through my menu preparing to leave.

I looked up for a moment and muttered, "Do you realize that I could leave anytime and live on my own."

"Ye wouldn't last a day on your own."

I said nothing. Secretly, I had been going to a lake with high level monsters that gave off a tremendous amount of EXP and had leveled up twice during the past few months. My current level was 10, which was 5 higher than my parents had thought.

friend/guild_friend_message box

I had a habit of checking my message box every morning even though no one ever messaged me. I knew or thought this would be empty, but today it was not. There was a message from someone who I never thought or expected would ever talk to me. "Angelica?" I said out loud. It had been years since I had heard from her, even though I checked on her status every night before I went to sleep.

ANGELICA: please help! Someone has kidnapped me and no one has come yet. I have been here for a week and i have only two lives left to keep me alive. no one is here and i am slowly dying of hunger!

I opened my menu.

friend/guild_friend_position check

Her current location was in a cave three if not four days walking from here. I would never make it in time. One life could keep her hunger levels at bay for up to twelve hours. The only possible way I could get to her in time was if I could get my hands on a teleport crystal. My only friend in the world could be dead by morning break, and that is what drove me to do something crazy.


	2. Chapter 2

A teleport crystal could cost up to 300 gold depending on the NPC and the season. 10 gold could buy you a meal in town and 50 could buy decent armor. In my account, I had 63 gold stored away. I stalked up to the NPC who sold crystals in my hometown and she gave a list of items and their costs. My eyes scanned the list and read the number next to the teleport crystals. "250," I muttered to myself. "How will I ever obtain that much gold?!"

If I do a quest that gives good payment, I should be able to pay 250 gold before night. Hopefully I do not run out of revita potion to keep myself from fatigue. Just to be safe, I paid 15 gold for 3 small revitas.

hunger: 53% fatigue: 21%

"Just one more boss fight. Just one more…" I said to myself. My level was now up to 12 and I had 224 gold stored away. I equipped my sword and armor then pressed "start fight."

Once again, the lizard man appeared. By now I had memorized its attack patterns and data. HP=1500. Its weak spot was a black crystal on its forehead, and I could deal twice as much damage if I could hit it there. I swung my sword at its legs repeatedly and its HP went down a little bit each time. It held a mace in its right hand. A Ragnarok Mace, made with a weight metal which increased its attack, but made it much slower in the process, thus easier to dodge. It cracked down at me but I darted out of its way. Its mace was wedged into the ground and it gave me the perfect opportunity to run up its back and hit its black crystal on its forehead.

I was only halfway up by the time it finally got its mace off the ground. I had one hand on my sword, and the other holding onto its rough neck. I tried hitting the beast with my sword with little luck as I had barely any control with only the use of one hand.

Then the lizard-beast unexpectedly grabbed my whole arm that was clenched around its thick neck and slammed my body to the ground.

I watched my HP drop down by a lot as it turned bright yellow. I cannot die here! If I do, I won't be able to respawn as I have no lives to spare. I don't want to know what happens when you die here. I wish I were real. A fear runs through me. What will happen if I die here? My HP bar turned orange, perhaps I would find out. The lizard-beast towers over me ready to deliver the final the lizard-beast unexpectedly grabbed my whole arm that was clenched around its thick neck and slammed my body to the ground.

I breathed, not out of fear, but an overwhelming calm passed over me. I do not know where it came from, but it was an urge to survive. It swung its mighty mace at me and I dodged it with ease. The lizard-beast's forehead was left wide open. With precision, my sword pierced the black crystal which then shattered into shards of white light.

The lizard beast fell over onto a bent knee, and eventually faded into the background of the empty cave. A small white window that displayed my earnings appeared before me. My fatigue level was down to 3%, I had to get to town and fast. I unequiped my sword, and started off in a run towards the city.

"Please adventurer. Please help me out," the NPC stated automatically as I stepped up before him. The quest list appeared and he gave me my reward.

251 gold was in my storage. I chugged my last small revita as I made my way to the NPC who sold crystals. I held it my hand as I felt its cold surface.

inventory_itemteleport crystal_use_enter location_Town of Defiled

Not even a second later, I was flashed into the town of my choosing. By now it was nightfall and my parents were probably wondering where I had gone. Luckily, they would most likely not have enough gold to track me down properly, though they could see my location, they could not do anything about it.

The town was beautiful despite its spoiled name. A fountain with people standing all around it was in the center of the city. Lots of tall skyscrapers filled the skies, and a string of lights surrounded the perimeter of the town. If I had more time, I might have considered stopping to admire my surroundings and take in its breathtaking beauty.

I made my way to the edge of town that led to my destination, where I would save Angelica. That is until someone grabbed my shoulder. A male adolescent with shiny black hair and a two-handed sword equipped. "Are you on a quest because there is nothing beyond here."

"No, I am on a rescue mission," I say bluntly and turned away.

"Let me be on your party, I'm level 8 and could be of some help to you," he said.

Annoyed, I said, "Sorry, party members only get in the way."

"I promise I will do everything you say, I just want to gain experience points," he pleaded.

Reluctantly, I accepted his party request and he responded with a look of joy. "Right, now. Erm, where are we going exactly?"

looked above his HP bar where his name was: Dean. "To a cave called...uhh… what is the cave up here called again?"

Dean chuckled, "You're not from around here, are you? The cave is called the Wradolst Grotto. And what sort of rescue mission is this?"

"An old friend of mine was kidnapped and I've come all this way to save her."

"Is she your wife or something?" he asked and I accidentally slapped him across the face which caused his HP to fall very slightly. "Geez, I was just asking. Such a nice thing to do to someone you just met," said Dean with something that almost seemed like a smirk.

We left the town and headed south toward the Wradolst Grotto. Part of me was wondering if Angelica would even remember me.


	3. Chapter 3

The Wradolst Grotto was entirely black on the outside. Dean, my new party member trotted towards it while I stood back and stared at the rock formation. I wondered whether in the real world, there were cave-like things similar to this.

Firelight lit the passageways through the cave. We walked for maybe an hour before we found the innermost cavern, which for some reason was completely empty. "I don't understand, she should be here." I looked again at her location and it still remained unchanged. "That or maybe we are too late."

"You should be able to see if she is still alive just by looking at your friend list. She is on your friend list right?" said Dean.

I sat down and I opened my menu again.

Friend/guild_friend_position check_:Angelica=logged out

Logged out? How could that be? I showed Dean the message and he gave a similarly puzzled look. "Could Angelica be from the real world? I thought they were all dead," I asked, but Dean just shrugged his shoulders.

"Who knows really anymore?"

"Well," I began, "If she does log back on it will be in this spot. So if we wait a while, she will come back and we can ask her ourselves."

Dean appeared to be struggling inwardly as though contemplating something, "I'm... I would like to wait here with you, but… I live with my mother at home… and she is waiting for me to come home for dinner."

"Go home to her," I said, "Be glad that you have a mother who will wait for you."

"Don't you have a family?"

I slowly answered, "I gave up on them not long ago, but I don't regret it."

He stood up, "Are you sure you'll be alright here on your own?"

I nodded and Dean opened his own menu.

_Dean has sent you a friend request. Do you accept?_

I sat in the corner of the cave where I waited for if Angelica ever would return. I had switched out my armor for warm outerwear and had built a fire out of rat fur that I had hunted within the cave. I ate the last piece of the bread I had in my inventory while staring at my menu with boredom.

My parents had finally sent me an angry message which for some reason brought me pleasure. What would they do now that I would no longer bring them dinner every night?

Only now I began to worry what will happen if I run out of supplies and only have 1 gold left over after purchasing that teleport crystal. Maybe in this new town, I can become an indentured servant to someone. I have some skills that could be useful.

character_skills_list

I could cook. Not that it was a very useful skill to have since most people chose to eat their food blandly. It was not even that high of a skill, only level 3.

Next on my skill tree was gathering. The only thing this did was increase the monster drop rate.

Then healing. I never really wanted to learn this skill, but my father forced me to use it in case he or mother ever got hurt. You use it by muttering a few elvish words around a wounded person and they heal, but your HP gets depleted in the process. This was up to level 7.

I laughed at myself, no one would ever want to hire me.

Suddenly, a bright light shone luminously in the cave. I immediately ran and hid behind a large boulder and watched as the light slowly died down. The time was X:49 and that is the last thing I remembered before the whole entire world went black.

The virtual world blacked out again. The third time this week. My eyes darted to the time: X:57. I was still in the cave, shocked and afraid once again that some day the world would just blink out and never come back on again.

I peaked out from behind the rock and a girl sat in the middle of the cavern. She was crying. After waiting a few cautious minutes, I picked myself up and approached her very carefully. She saw me, and I heard her mutter, "Oh, thank God."

"Are you…" I waited for her to respond with a look, "...Angelica?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"Was it you who sent the…" I was surprised when she unexpectedly grasped my shoulders and whispered,

"You have to get me out of here! And fast, they should be here any second!"

No stalling, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the cavern as fast as I could. The end of the cave was near and I heard something loud and thundering behind us. When we finally arrived at the mouth of the cave, it shut entirely. The firelight in the cave died out, and we were left in total darkness.

A monstrous voice boomed out from the dark, "What do you think you are doing with my perfect human being?!"


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you think you are doing with my perfect being?!"

What did he mean by that?

"Angelica, you have no right to leave this cave! Come back now, or I will kill your little friend!"

Angelica slid her finger and opened her menu. I watched as she pulled an item out of her inventory: teleport leaflet. This will take anyone to the nearest town, but why has she not used it before? She opened a trade window with me and gave me the item. "Leave us, I'll be fine. Thank you for trying."

"I am not leaving you here to die!" I shouted.

She said, "Are you stupid? Get out of here before he kills you."

I opened my menu and pulled out the teleport leaflet. I grabbed her arm and used it.

We immediately found ourselves in the middle of the Town of Defiled. Angelica looked down at herself, "How is this possible?" She started laughing with joy. "I am freed."

"Who kept you trapped down in that cave and why?" I asked.

"I'll tell you once we find a place more private. There could be people listening."

I scratched my forehead, "Well I'd say we could get a motel room, but I've only got 1 gold left. So…"

"I can pay for the room, and I will tell you everything as payment for saving me," she said. "What is your name by the way?"

"Merak," I said, "Merak Yaxha. Are you sure you can pay for a room?"

She smirked and opened her menu. Then turned it around to show me. "10,000,000 gold?!" I choked, "Well if you've got that much, would you mind treating me to dinner as well?" I laughed.

"Sure."

That night, I had the best meal imaginable. I never thought I would see the day that this much gold would be spent on one dinner. At the restaurant, we casually talked about our personal lives, though she did not really talk much about hers in public.

"Are you from this town?" she asked.

"No," I said, "I'm from Oar's Rest. It is a western themed town many leagues from here."

She looked at me puzzled, "What are you doing here then?"

"Uhh, well. You did send a message saying you were in trouble. So I came here to save you…" I said sheepishly while I sipped my lemon tea.

She asked, "But how did you get that message in the first place?"

"Well you are on my friend list."

Angelica looked up, "I-I...am?" She scrolled through her own friend list until she saw my name: Merak Yaxha. "Oh, I guess we are friends then. Hehe," she laughed awkwardly.

The motel room was larger than any other than I had ever stayed in. Two beds, one on either side of the room and laden with velvet pillows, a tiny kitchen which peaked my interest as most motel rooms do not possess such areas, and four red armchairs.

hunger: 98% fatigue: 12%

We sat across from each other in the scarlet seats, and I said ever so unceremoniously, "Tell me, who was it that kidnapped you in the first place?"

Angelica sat up as though posing for an interview. "Well, are you aware of the rumors that the ones who are supposed to be running this world are dead?"

"Yeah."

"Many of them are. And it has been confirmed that this world is dying," she said. She breathed in deeply. "They are testing the players and logging them out to try out their human-like androids they are building for everyone. They can give the exact same sensibilities as real human living in reality."

I scratched my forehead, "That's a good thing right? At least they are doing something about saving the fate of humanity."

"But…" her lip trembled. "They are only testing the androids only on game-borns like me. Because we are not as important as the ones who are not. They are inserting their genetic code into the androids and logging them out. Some parents are willing to sell their game-born child for a high price to the game master, like my 'loving' family did."

"What did the creature who was chasing us out of the cave mean when he said, 'Perfect Being'?" I asked.

She answered, "About one eighth of all the game-borns are vulnerable when they fall asleep. Someone could approach them and manipulate their menus which could, in turn, cause them great suffering. But since there are not quite as many game-borns as regular people, finding one with this bug would be difficult to find."

Is it true that some game-borns are in danger of this bug? I wonder if I am like that.

"This is nice," I said. "I have never met another game-born like myself. I think it is funny how some people think we are only NPCs and have no souls of our own. We have no desire to do anything of our own accord, and thus we've both become outcasts."

Angelica said nothing in return. She leaned back in her seat and remained silent.

"What was the real world like?" I said suddenly to break the silence.

"Excuse me?"

"Living in reality. What does it feel like?"

Angelica answered sullenly, "It is a living hell. You know how sometimes you trip and fall on your face and you can just get back up? It hurts. And they call it 'pain.'"

"What does it feel like."

"It feels like it does when… I don't know how to explain it. Try to imagine yourself when your HP is almost depleted and you don't know what will happen when it hits zero," she said. I thought back to my battle with the lizard-beast when I was about to die. Maybe just the thought of dying is what it feels like. I wonder if I will ever know what this 'pain' feels like.


	5. Chapter 5

The following morning, I sat up and rubbed my eyes awake. I looked over and saw Angelica still asleep in the other bed. It was L:58 and usually by this hour, I would be out in the fields hunting and gaining exp. But, I suddenly found myself in a conflict. I could leave and go out hunting, but some might find it rude to leave a person who just paid for a very expensive room for you and leave without saying good-bye. I could wake her up, but I do not wish to anger her. Or on the other hand, I can just stay here and wait for her to awaken, but she would accuse me of watching her sleep, and am certainly not a pervert like that. What do I do in a situation like this?

Not wanting to simply ditch her, I decide to stay in the motel room and browse my newsfeed. By N:05, I glanced over when I heard her stirring, but I glanced at the worst possible moment. She was facing me and her eyes were glaring at me. Afraidness in my voice, I nervously said, "G-good morning, Angelica."

I have never been so grateful that people could not be murdered within safe zones. She irritatedly muttered, "What were you planning?!"

A look of embarrassment crosses my face. "What are you talking about? I've been sitting here the whole-" I was cut off by her holding a knife to my throat. "I'm sorry," I squeaked.

She withdrew the knife and breathed. "Good."

I waited a moment before I announced, "Well, if you are going to sit around here all day, I am going to go hunting."

"Take me with you."

"Uh."

"I'm level 25, I can take care of myself," she said gathering her items into her storage.

I said, "Are you sure that is a good idea? I am leaving the safe zone, so you should stay here. That monster might come back for you."

"Unlikely. By now he has probably found another game-born to take my place."

_Angelica has sent you a party invitation. Do you accept?_

I hesitantly accepted. "Just so we are clear," I began. "I warned you of the dangers you risk of going out of the safe zone. As I have already demonstrated, if you find yourself in danger, I won't let you out of my sight until we are both back in the safe zone."

"I do not need a babysitter! But just one question: How do you equip a sword?"she asked sheepishly.

I spent a great deal of the day, teaching Angelica how to wield her sword. I was surprised by how fast she learned. Finally about an hour later she collapsed onto the grass and gazed into the sky. "I cannot believe this is what I was locked away from for my entire life. The world is so beautiful and full of color. I cannot help but wonder why anyone would want to return to the real world when this one can offer you eternal life. The sky in the real world was brown and murky and there was a blinding light which could burn your skin if you were exposed for too long. Why would anyone want that?"

"Who knows?"

"Merak, can you stay with me until I get the hang of this world? I would really appreciate it," she asked.

"Yeah, okay. It's not like I have anywhere I need to be or anything since I ran away from my parents," I answered. Honestly, if I left now, I would have nowhere to go. And I cannot imagine Angelica trying to survive on her own.

There was a shouting in our direction coming from the top of the grassy hill. "Who is that?" she asked. The shouting continued.

"I have no idea," I said but as I said it I recognized the voice. It was Dean, my old party member from yesterday. I watched as he ran down the hill as fast as he could.

Without either of us saying a word, Dean announced loud enough for everyone on the field to hear, "Is that Angelica, your wife?!"

A new flood of embarrassment passed over me. With clenched fists, I muttered angrily, "I never said she was my wife! And how the hell did you find me here?" And once again I accidentally slapped him across the face.

Angelica was sitting back and laughing as hard as I have ever seen.

"Well I saw that you were in the field, so I thought I would drop by and say 'hi.'" he said.

"Well you did a hell of a job doing it," I said and forced an angry smile.

He looked at me, then Angelica, then back at me. "Are you guys hunting? Can I join your party?"

"No," I said immediately.

"Yes," said Angelica and she turned to look at me. "This is why I am party leader and you are not." I watched as she sent him a party invitation while she smiled at me deviously. Dean looked overly enthusiastic.

I refused to look at him while I continued hunting. "Come on Merak. You need me more than you would like to admit. I know this area better than either of you put together."

Throughout the whole day, I earned a total of 33 gold which if I were alone, I would have only earned a third of that. I was thankful that I had a decent party and new friends, but I would never mention that to Dean. When he went home to his family, Angelica murmured to him, "Same time tomorrow then?"

"Absolutely," he said and then he was gone.

We rented a slightly cheaper motel that night, mainly because I suggested it. Angelica had an idea, "Merak, we should form a guild with us and Dean." I did not particularly like the idea but a guild would be beneficial to all of us.

"I highly doubt Dean would want to join a guild. And the item required to form a guild would take days to gather the items to build and-"

She laughed, "You don't think Dean would want to join a guild seeing how eager he was about forming a party with us?"

"Fine," I said, "I'll make you a deal. If Dean wants to join our guild, then we will form one. If not then we won't."

"Good night, Marek."


	6. Chapter 6

"A guild?"

"Yes," I said, "We would start out in this town and eventually move out into more distant regions. But first we would need to gather materials for the Crest of Unity." I watched Dean's face as he pondered the possibility.

He answered slowly, "Sorry, I will need to decline as I do not wish to wander too far from home."

"We understand," said Angelica as she proceeded to send him a party invite.

I checked the weather data for today, "It is going to start raining at O:00. We best leave now-"

"I'm sorry, I can't party with you today," he said, "I have...other things I must tend to." He turned away, "Farewell."

But at least, I thought, we do not have to form a guild. However, it was odd how he reacted. Why did he seem so excited about partying yesterday, but so unenthusiastic today? I asked Angelica what she thought, but she just shrugged her shoulders. So we went hunting that day without him and we tried not to think about him. We barely uttered a word throughout the whole day, that is until it began raining and we retreated back to town.

We repeated the same motives each day, until one morning, I realized I had been in the Town of Defiled for over a month. I noticed the weather grew chiller and a tall green, spiny tree with colorful lights on all its branches had appeared in the center of the town. The stringed lights around the town that were usually blue and white, were changed to red and gold. Just the fact that simple things like this change to give players warm feelings like this, gave them hope that somebody out in the real world was still taking care of them.

"What are all the decorations for, Mamma?" I heard a little girl ask.

"Well a long time ago, when we still lived in the real world, once a year, we would have a tree just like this one in our house. There was a myth that there was a big fat man in a red and white suit who would bring good children presents and leave them under the christmas tree."

"Oh," exclaimed the child to her mother. "Was that true?"

"Of course not, it was merely a story. There is no real magic in the real world. You were too young to understand when we were brought here."

This world has come so far, and it soon shall come to an end. So what are we supposed to do but perish along with it. I was sitting in a brown armchair completely lost in my own thoughts. Then came a ring at our motel room's door door. "Who could that be?" I said aloud. Angelica opened the door and there was a familiar face that I had not seen for several weeks. Dean.

"Hey," he said sadly. I knew by the tone of his voice that something bad had happened to him. "Could I stay with you two for the night? I can help pay for the room."

"What happened?" I asked.

"My mother was attacked by a giant boar, and she…." Angelica pulled him into a quick hug.

"Of course you can. I understand," she said.

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it," he said sobbing.

That marked the first time I had ever had the need to use my sleeping mat that I made several years ago. Dean slept in the other bed, while I was forced to sleep on the floor. That was the other thing about this world, you could not sleep with anyone else unless you were married to one another. I did not really mind. Dean had lost a lot tonight. I understood as well as anyone.

However, the next morning I learned a very important lesson. I woke up and I was alone still on the floor of the motel room. Where did they go?

friends/guild_friend_position check_Wradolst Grotto

Why the hell were both of them at Wradolst Grotto? And it was then I realized, it was Dean. Why else would he have seen me heading to the one place where most players simply ignore because there is nothing hardly in the cave? He followed me to investigate me. He friended me to keep an eye on my position check. He partied with us to gain our trust. And though all that, he kidnapped her because all along, he knew that she was the perfect being for manipulation. I now, to this day, have trouble trusting people.

As fast as I could, I gathered everything I owned and ran as fast as I virtually could through the Town of Defiled. Within ten minutes, I found myself in the deepest part of Wradolst Grotto. But instead of an empty chamber, there were two men in white lab coats that could not be obtained with the game. But Dean was nowhere to be found. "What have you done with Angelica?!" I shouted at the men mercilessly.

"Oh, you mean subject 62? If you would like to see her again, you will have to help us with our beta structures," said the first man who was entering information into a data pod.

I looked at their screens of information. Angelica was entered as one of over 1000 other game-borns who right at this moment were logged off completely. "If you both sacrifice 4 hours a day to beta test for us, you and 62, I mean Angelica, can log back on and go home."

"So you are saying, that she does not have to stay here constantly, if we both come back everyday and beta test?" I asked with an untrusting expression.

"Correct. But if you fail to return, our minions with come and escort you back here where you will fully live on here until the end of your days. Also, wages are ½ day is 500 gold, which is what you and 62, I mean Angelica, would both get. A whole day is paid 1000 gold," the second man said.

"How can I trust you will let us free at the end of our hours?" I questioned with doubt.

"You can trust us", he showed me a shiny metallic badge that showed he was from the real world.

The first man asked me, "Will you beta test for us?"

_a government issued assignment has be offered. Do you accept?_

I knew not whether I would regret my decision or not, but I chose 'yes.' They took me into a room where I immediately saw all the other beta testers with headgear over their faces. They strapped me to an uncomfortable seat, and I watched as they put the same headgear over my own face. And then I blacked out. Four more hours till I return to this world.


	7. Chapter 7

I opened my eyes. I was beginning to gain feeling in all parts of my new body. But it was a new feeling. I did not understand how this body functioned at all. I was forced to breathe or else I would die. I slid my fingers, but my menu did not appear. Inwardly, I have never been so afraid in my entire life. I was in a darkened, empty room. I could tell it was empty because I heard my breath echoing off the walls. I felt my way around the room until I found a small crack in the wall. It was the door. Forcing myself against the heavy, stone doorway until it opened into a new world and I stepped outside.

The sky was gray and the air was hard to breathe. Where I was, looked like a town that was completely ruined. I was afraid that some sort of high level monster would attack me and I could not use my sword that was back in the virtual world.

I took my first step very carefully. Chunks of broken concrete were scattered randomly on the ground with patched of tall dead weeds grew alongside it. I made my way up the steps toward what appeared to be roofless cement house.

I stood staring into the distance for a while before I sat on the cold surface of the structure. I held my hand in front of my face. Life or mechanics? Am I real? Or is this secretly just another virtual world designed to please those who do not believe in technology as key?

There was a great light in the sky whose light blinded all those who looked upon it. When I covered my eyes and faced the light, my body grew warm. But when I looked away, it grew cold. So from that observance, I noted, all warmth in this world comes from that dreadful light. No wonder why Angelica described this world as hell. And why do we want to return here? And why were certain game-borns forced to exist here?

The most important thing I needed to do was to find Angelica and tell her when we are expected to get out of this dreadful world. I started out in a slow jog toward where I thought I had seen movement in the distance. I tried running a bit faster, then I stopped completely. I could not run anymore. But there was this other feeling that I never felt before. It was an unpleasant feeling in my chest and I wanted nothing more than to make it go away. I clutched my chest and sprawled out onto the ground. Could this be the 'pain' that Angelica was talking about? It was nothing that I was ever familiar with and with no medicine in this world, what was I supposed to do?

I woke up with unfamiliar faces around me. They all seemed different in the way they looked compared to those in the virtual world. Their hair seemed much more animated and detailed and their faces were unkempt and dirty. "What is your name, boy?" one of them asked kindly.

"Merak. Merak Yaxha," I answered. I looked around the room and counted. There were seven people present. "What time is it?"

"11:45-"

"No, game-time. Don't you have a-"

"I'm sorry Merak," said one older ladies who reminded me of an NPC. "Your world has 26 hours in a day while ours only has 24. It would be very difficult for us to keep track of both our time and yours since our world is extremely poor." I remained silent for a few seconds. "Are you new to this world?"

I said, "Yes."

"I could tell from finding you lying face down in the middle of a field that you were new." I laughed from embarrassment. "Do not worry, this world is not too difficult to manage. Although, since you are used to a life of painless misery, it could prove to be a bit painful."

There's that 'pain' word again. A physical hurt to your body, but what is the point of it all? The old woman smiled at me which sent me a positive vibe as I felt a bit more hopeful about this world. She helped me stand up from the stiff bed I was lying on.

Then she led me through a darkened hallway that was aligned with something I had never seen before. There were wooden sticks tied together to form a square. Inside it was a picture of a young person who reminded me of a player from the virtual world. In another was a creature with a round face and floppy ears (and if I was not mistaken, it looked as if it were smiling). In the last picture I saw was an older male and female (the female in which was the person leading me down this passage) with a young girl. They all seemed happy which is something I wish I felt in the virtual reality.

The bitter truth was that I was alone in both worlds and always would be.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I was facing a mirror, but my face did not reflect in it. My hair which was normally silver and maroon, was black. My red eyes, were brown.

"Is there any way of finding any other players from the virtual reality?" I asked as she stopped at a splintery door that looked like it was about to fall off its hinges.

When opened, it squealed loudly. I looked in and there was a girl that looked exactly like the one in the picture. Her face was dirty, hair was matted, and was hunched over a book. "Abigail, you naughty girl. I told you to go to the creek and wash up."

"I'm sorry, grandmum," she said. "Should I go now?"

"There is no time for that now. I need you to take this boy to the Community Center."

"The Community Center?" I asked but did not get a reply.

Abigail started to speak, but the old woman outspoke her. "It's only two days trip up to the City of Feoxose. You will be back in time for your lessons." The old woman handed her a bag, "Be off now."

Abigail jestered for me to follow her while I was still resisting with my question of "Where are you taking me? What is the Community Center?" though all of my questions were still ignored.

We walked east for the next hour. My legs grew unbearably tired but Abigail still insisted on walking. "When do you log back in?" she asked.

"They said I only had four hours here."

"Then we should stop and set up camp," she said stopping in her tracks ever so stiffly.

I wondered with a sense of curiosity, "What will happen to this body when they log me back in?"

"Your body here will fall asleep. And I will have to ensure that it stays safe. Otherwise they would punish me," she said with a shot of fear. I felt guilty just for existing in this world.

"I'm sorry to burden you. I just want to see my friend again."

"You'll find your friend at the community center," she said bluntly. She pulled out a bag in which about five minutes later, was like a small cloth house. She tossed me a blanket, "Now go to sleep."


	8. Chapter 8

**I am so sorry for not updating. I have been going through a lot such as one of my best friends just passed away so I have been to down to write anything. I am also sorry that this chapter is so short, but hopefully the next one will be longer. :3**

I can never look at this world the same way ever again. The familiar virtual feeling of not being real. I still cannot help but wonder what I really am. Just a file filled with 1's and 0's? On top of that, I am now a slave to the real world. How can I pretend not to feel troubled? I am real, I have feelings. I can feel emotions. I can understand. But why do they hate me so much? I wonder if killing off my avatar would solve anything. And if I do that, what the hell would be the point of living at all? I wish I were real like the other players. I am not a bloody NPC!

We logged back in, and headed back to town. I was relieved that I knew they were telling us the truth about us being allowed to return instead of being trapped in reality.

"You idiot! Why are you so stupid that you would enter the real world without telling me?!" she shouted at me once we returned to the motel room. I smiled. "Why are you smiling?! You could have gotten yourself killed. If you died in the real world, your avatar here would have vanished here too. And I don't know what I would do if you died!" I laughed. "You careless bastard!" she said.

I laughed. It was evening time. "Let's head back for town," I said. "I'll buy you something to eat." Angelica was still reluctant from shock of being transported from the real world.

"O-okay," she whimpered.

The first thing I said once we entered our hotel room was,"So when we are in the real world, I noticed my anatomy was different from my anatomy here. Is there-" Angelica cut me off,

"When this world was created, people were required to scan themselves into computers, right?"

I stuttered, "Yeah."

She continued, "Once all that was over, their bodies were still leftover. Said to be preserved. But that was not true. A government agency decided to use the preserved bodies as test subjects."

I gasped, "You mean-"

"Yes, the body you were using was one that belonged to someone who came from the real world."

I shivered, "But...but some of the people there looked beaten up and broken. But I thought that the bodies of the players in the real world were the only safety net in this world. And-AND THEY ARE DESTROYING THEM?!"

D THEY ARE DESTROYING THEM?!" "That is the harsh reality. The cost of using the government's equipment… for them to be in this world at all… was to let them use their bodies for research. And no one ever told them. The Game-Borns, people like us are the only freeloaders. So we are the ones they target, we never really existed."

"That much makes sense," I said with a worried sigh.

"Well, since we are paid by the government, I guess we don't need to go hunting anymore," she said with a small stutter, "But I think we need to think on more futuristic terms. Like, where do we see ourselves in say two years?"

"Honestly, I don't think this world will last two years," I said. "Tomorrow, we can gather more information on where the database for this world is, and see how it operates."

She answered with, "It is forbidden. All the players are supposed to remain in the community center for testing. Where is your body in the real world?"

"In a field with a girl who is taking me to the community center."

"Run away from her. Lose her. It is the only way you will be able to reach the database unspotted," she said. "No one, as far as I know, occupies the base. The goal is to find the switch and let all the captives in the community center free."

I asked, "And where are you?"

"Dead."


End file.
